In those 11 years, Tomlinson played 19 games against the Broncos. In those games, he rushed for 1,542 yards (81.1 yards per game) and scored 21 touchdowns.

Several of his best games came against the Broncos — the 220-yard, 3-touchdown game in 2002 (a 30-27 Chargers’ win); a 4-touchdown (three rushing, one receiving) game on Nov. 19, 2006, followed less than a month later with another 3-TD performance); and his three-touchdown day in the 2008 regular-season finale, the game that sealed the AFC West for the Chargers after Denver’s historic collapse.

Tomlinson scored two touchdowns against the Broncos in 2010 while playing for the Jets.

By all accounts, Tomlinson is regarded as one of the best running backs in league history, and one of the all-around good guys off the field for his leadership in the locker room and work in the community.

But Broncos fans surely can’t be disappointed his career has come to an end.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.